Last week, Kanye West, Steve Stoute and Ben Horowitz held court in Cannes, France as a part of the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In a seminar titled “Technology, Culture, and Consumer Adoption: Learning to Read the Cultural Landscape,” West prefaced his words by saying he didn’t want to make any “over-the-top statements that end up getting quoted.”

“There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture,” said West on the deal Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine recently inked with Apple.

“The reason I said I didn’t like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. I can’t work with anyone but Jay Z, because he’s No. 1. I can’t be with any girl but Kim, because that’s the girl whose pictures I look at the most and get turned on by. I’m not going to represent any company but Louis Vuitton, because that’s No. 1. … Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy [Iovine] and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers.”

“Apple was so profound at making great products in great design language,” added Stoute. “And yet they found themselves culturally susceptible to another brand whose products weren’t necessarily as great at that time. Samsung used culture as a way to get into the conversation. And that’s why the Apple/Beats deal makes sense. Whatever Samsung is doing culturally, Apple has the 800-pound gorilla in Beats and Jimmy and Dre.”

Watch West’s on technology, influence, his wedding, Annie Leibovitz and many more in this hour-long sit down.

While at SXSW, Steve Stout is joined by Nas and Ben Horowitz to speak on the concept of The Tanning Of America, which was recently captured in the VH1 series of the same name.